SILENT SORROW

Chapter 13

The Same Puzzle, All Over Again

"Another dream. No………not a dream. A vision. From the past."

Do you remember?

"………of course."

What did you feel back then?

"………pain."

Pain?

"The pain……of losing someone I cared for."

But you did the right thing by letting him go.

"………I know. But it still hurt."

……I know how it feels. He knows how it feels.

"…he?"

Yes. He.

The vision reached her with the same intensity as she remembered. It was almost like living the moment once again. She wondered why Goddramon forced her to go through it over and over again. What did he want her to see?

"What am I missing!? What am I supposed to see?"

Do not be worried. You'll look at the right place.

She saw how Dobermon said his final words to her, and how he rose to the sky above her to grant his valuable information to the Digimon Tamers. She saw herself, staring silently at the scene taking place before her, as she was no longer a participant. Her role in that story was over. She saw herself, staring at the impressive light display as one by one the Tamers merged with their Digimon to create the miracle of evolution to the Mega Level, until the light grew too bright for her younger self to be able to keep her eyes open.

She, too, shielded her eyes and waited for her past counterpart to open them again. Eventually, she did as such, and the real Alice followed her line of sight to the top of the nearest building.

The two Alices simply stared, printing the image in their minds forever.

A holy knight in a shining white armor.

And the dream was over.

*********************************************************************

Henry was exhausted. With each breath, a quiet 'click' followed. MegaGargomon had depleted all of his ammunition. But the result was satisfying. Where Daemon had once stood was now only an indescribable mountain of debris and dust. He looked at the other Tamers, who weren't as humble as him. Their smiles and celebrations were enough to make him understand the happiness of the moment. His eyes met with SaberLeomon's for a second, and Henry could literally feel the radiant smile Jeri was displaying at that precise moment. He quickly looked away.

Heh-heh, someone's blushing!

"No, I'm not!"

These kids of late……you're growing just too fast, Henry!

"Terriermon!"

Attracted by the sound of explosions and the clouds of dust, several members of Daemon's troops slowly approached to investigate, but the sight of the Tamers celebrating and Daemon nowhere to be seen gave those enough reasons for them to remain hidden.

Justimon walked next to the giant machine Digimon and patted his left shoulder.

"Great job, Henry. I think none of those missiles of yours missed."

Henry was too tired to reply. The effort of launching such an amazing attack had totally drained him. He just smiled and nodded, and Ryo seemed to understand the reason for his friend's lack of words. As for Kazu and Kenta, they were ecstatic.

"We won!"

"We won, dude!"

Henry chuckled at the sight of the two friends hugging each other and their Digimon. He looked up, to the night sky.

Do you think……he'll be proud, Terriermon?

"He's not dead."

Takato?

"Daemon. He can't be dead. It was just too easy."

And here I thought I was the pessimistic one of the group.

"That……actually hurt."

And everything turned into flames.

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Rosemon retreated a few steps. Gulfmon moved forward just as many steps. Not so certain of their leader's victory anymore, the group of plant Digimon assumed battle positions, as they helped the fallen Lilymon get up. Galfmon stood without moving an inch, flexing and tensing his sore muscles. Takato breathed heavily and struggled to keep the bio-merge.

"Takato……you can't fight."

I know. I don't plan to.

"I beg your pardon?"

I hope this will intimidate them long enough to help us escape. Who knows? They might even help us.

"Honestly……I don't think so."

These aren't bad Digimon, I can tell. I feel horrible having to resort to this.

"We are only looking for a place to rest. Please let us leave."

Rosemon stiffened at the sound of Gulfmon's voice, but soon enough she regained her composure.

"That's not possible! Our existence must remain a secret!"

"We only want to leave. You can rest assured, as your secret will not be spread. You have my word."

"Your word means nothing to us!"

"Then I shall make my way by force."

"Force? Ha! Don't try to mock me. Don't you think I can tell how weak and tired you are? You're in no condition to fight!"

Damn……she's good.

"She has proven to be quite a skilled fighter, Takato. She's no ordinary Rosemon."

Then we might have to be true to our threats.

Rika simply stood there, a little puny human being when compared to the immense Digimon next to her.

"Takato! Stop this nonsense right now!"

And this is what I get for being a good person.

"Takato, stop doing this to yourself. Why do you punish your own body like this?"

I don't know, Renamon. Maybe Ruki's right……maybe I do want to die.

Gulfmon swiped the air with his left hand, knocking out several Digimon with the sheer movement. He then did the same thing with his right hand, creating a possible escape route.

"Rika! Run!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!"

And so, both human and Digimon made their way out of the circle of Digimon which had surrounded them. Of course, we can't forget Rosemon.

"Where do you think you're going!? Roses Rap-"

"BLACK REQUIEM!!!"

The sudden beam of dark energy coming out of Gulfmon's body took Rosemon completely by surprise, hitting with absolute precision and dragging the fairy Digimon alongside it until it reached an abrupt end by slamming against a rock formation 150 feet behind her, followed by an impressive explosion of dark energy.

That's the way! Ouch…damn…

"Takato!"

However, the attack took whatever energy Takato had replenished during his time unconscious, which forced him to disable the evolution, changing back to human and rookie Digimon. Renamon rushed to aid the fallen Tamer as he once again joined the ground for yet another round of slumber.

"Damn……damn it……."

"Takato!" Rika cried as she, too, approached to his fallen form. Renamon scanned the surroundings, noticing that some of the plant Digimon were already standing.

"Rika, hurry!"

"Alright!" She shouted before she lifted Takato's body so that she could carry him on her back.

"Damn it, Gogglehead, anyone would think you'd be lighter!" Rika managed to mutter before several large shadows clouded her.

They were surrounded again.

"Stop right there." A weak voice could be heard somewhere behind Rika and Renamon. They didn't need to look back to recognize it as Rosemon's, so they waited for her to reach them, and when she did, both Rika and Renamon had to suppress a gasp.

It was almost unbelievable how much damage she had received with just one of Gulfmon's attacks. As for Rosemon, she stared at the unconscious boy on Rika's back with a mixture of fear and frustration.

How can someone in such a state still be this powerful? What kind of data does his human have?

"………follow me."

Rosemon turned around and started to walk away. Rika looked at Renamon, who looked around, exchanging looks with the many Digimon around them.

"We don't seem to have any other choice, Rika."

The girl simply nodded and, with a grunt, started what would be a long and exhausting walk.

*************************************************************************

The Digimon grunted and muttered some quiet curses as it tried to get a quick nap. He was done with guard duty and he was looking forward to a few hours of sleeping before it was his turn again. It was part of his absolute assassin discipline, and he was trained to handle days without rest, but every living thing, organic or digital, needs a minimum of sleeping hours.

However, at the sudden state of things, sleeping would be impossible.

"Will you knock it off already!?"

The other DarkScubamon growled in response and continued sharpening his dagger. Metal and stone sliding against each other with a loud chirring noise which was driving the exhausted guard to insanity.

"There are people trying to sleep here!"

No response, only more chirring. The DarkScubamon growled, but his complains were shadowed by the sounds of sharpening.

Then, the sound of a knife cutting through flesh.

Then, the sound of a Digimon fading into data.

Then, a sigh of relief.

Then, at last, silence.

And the sound of a DarkScubamon snoring.

Then, an explosion from outside and the sound of the tent's curtain being ripped to shreds. DarkScubamon immediately opened his tired eyes to identify the new threatening situation, only to face the shadow of a giant Digimon looming above him. Finally, he looked up, to meet a giant fist as big as his own body quickly approaching to him.

It would be the last thing he'd see.

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Jeri cried with authentic pain, unable to do anything but witness the horrible torture placed upon MegaGargomon. Separated from him by an unbreakable wall of flames, she watched and quietly cried, releasing a loud gasp every time Daemon's fist pounded against the machine Digimon's face. Notoriously exhausted by their extreme attack, Henry and Terriermon seemed to be incapable of countering the endless barrage of smashing punches they were continuously receiving. Every time SaberLeomon or any of the other Digimon attempted to free their comrade from such danger, Daemon replied with a powerful shockwave which sent them back, only to resume his pounding on the one who had caused him great damage.

MegaGargomon didn't even cry in pain. He seemed unable to do even that. And Daemon was quickly getting bored.

"Enough."

In an amazing demonstration of strength, the smaller Demon Lord easily lifted the metallic titan, raising it above his head. Daemon shot a feral smirk to the other Tamers, who weren't very eager to know what Daemon had in mind.

"Burn."

Suddenly, Daemon's hands glowed right before bathing MegaGargomon with unholy flames which covered his entire body. This time, he did cry. Jeri could actually distinguish Henry's voice within the machine Digimon, as the young teen felt how his skin was scorched by the powerful flames of hell.

"Henry! Oh, God, please! Stop it, please!"

Daemon evilly chuckled. "Oh, you want me to stop? Sure……"

Indeed, he stopped. A few seconds later, with a mighty growl, he dropped the completely defeated MegaGargomon………on his right knee.

"Henry!!!!"

Henry appeared soon enough, as the human-Digimon fusion could no longer be maintained, and the unconscious body of a human being rolled on the cracked street like a ragged doll. Daemon held the unconscious Terriermon for a few seconds, and then threw it away to his partner.

Jeri couldn't anything else but cry, while Ryo silently cursed. Things were getting even worse. Those who had been scared and forced to retreat by their sudden strike were slowly but surely returning, forming a wide circle around the Digimon Tamers.

They were surrounded.

"And now, children……" Daemon spoke. "……now you will be good and take me to the Vessel."

"What part of 'no' you don't get!?" Justimon replied. Daemon chuckled.

"So, that's the way it is……you're willing to die right here to keep the secret. It's okay, I guess. It's a matter of time before I find someone who is willing to speak."

"And what if the 'Vessel', as you call him, destroys himself before you reach him?"

"Oh, he won't. He doesn't have the guts to do that."

"Shut up!"

Daemon turned to the source of those last two words.

"Don't……don't speak of Takato in such a horrible way! Infinity Arrows!"

The wall of flame rose high, reducing SaberLeomon's attack to naught.

"Oh, my, what an impetuous one. Mind your manners, little one. Flame Inferno!"

SaberLeomon didn't know what hit her, as the heat wave moved faster than she could possibly detect. She only felt an incredible pain and found herself lying several meters behind where she originally stood.

Hirokazu and Kenta couldn't take it anymore.

"Enough! Andromon, get him!!!"

"No, Hirokazu, wait!!!"

At the very moment Andromon lunged at Daemon, dozens of enemy Digimon lunged at the Tamers for what seemed an easy kill.

SaberLeomon only stared at the eyes of their would-be executors, the DarkScubamon. The eyes of trained assassins, desperate for disposing of their targets, fixed on her as if she were a deer waiting to be hunted. Such horribly cold eyes……until they started flickering.

Flickering?

Yes, and it wasn't just their eyes. Their entire bodies seemed to be distorting, like the screen of a cheap TV. And it wasn't just them; even she felt an awkward sensation within her. Elecmon didn't waste time voicing his thoughts.

"Jeri……something wrong's going on……I can't……I can't keep it any longer………"

Soon enough, SaberLeomon reverted to Jeri and Elecmon, and so did Ryo and Monodramon. Even Andromon de-evolved to its rookie level, Hagurumon. Only MarineAngemon seemed to be immune to whatever affected the Digimon. Even Daemon seemed to be struggling to keep himself stable, when several of the Kurisarimon literally exploded from the inside, becoming data which was quickly absorbed by the most vicious ones. Besides, absorbing more data seemed to help them maintain their own stability.

Jeri looked at Ryo, expecting an explanation, but the Legendary Tamer seemed to have his eyes fixed on something far away from them, on the road they had taken to arrive there. Jeri followed his line of sight.

Fifteen meters behind Daemon stood a big, black van, and the unmistakable figure of Mitsuo Yamaki.

Ryo chuckled. "Juggernaut………"

"You could stop standing there like morons and move your asses to the car, like, NOW!!!"

The shout snapped the Tamers from the pseudo-trance caused by Juggernaut's unexpected aid. Ryo looked down and gasped when he met Daneel Randt, who, playing daredevil, was struggling to lift Henry and Terriermon, right by Daemon's feet. However, it seemed that Daemon was more interested in remaining in one piece. Quickly, Jeri took Terriermon and rushed to the van, followed by the other Tamers and the Hypnos technician, who struggle to carry the unconscious Henry Wong. Ryo chuckled at the sight.

"You seem to be having trouble."

"Oh, bite me! I'm a thinker; I have no need for physical strength."

Ryo let go a short laugh and proceeded to help the older man. As for the Daemon Army, it seemed like their general was the only one faring remotely well. In fact, a good percentage of the Kurisarimon had fallen victims of the powerful computer program. However, those who survived had done it by merging into Infermon. Most of the DarkScubamon were slowly recovering, and Daemon had little more than a slight migraine. Then, he noticed there were a few people missing.

"TAMERS! You will take me to the Vessel!"

And the chase was on. Of course, Daemon didn't bother to actually move, since his Flame Inferno attack seemed to do the job just fine. Besides, he still had hordes of DarkScubamon and Infermon to do the actual chasing.

Jeri and Elecmon were the first to get inside the van, followed by Hirokazu and Kenta and their Digimon partners. Monodramon jumped inside a few seconds later. Jeri helped the small dragon and jumped outside, expecting to receive Henry to give him the proper aid.

That's when the big explosion was heard, and soon enough, a shockwave rocked the black van back and forth, breaking the windows and causing the ones inside to lose their balance.

Jeri, who was taken by surprise by the explosion and blinded by the dust that filled the entire place, was also affected by the shockwave, forcing her to fall backwards. The last thing she felt was a piercing pain on the back of her head as it hit the van's lateral doorframe, and then, unconsciousness.

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The Digi-Destined stood as one the moment Joe opened the door to the bedroom and then closed it behind him, eyeing his companions with a sharp look, unnatural in him, at least in his friends' minds. They knew they were looking at Joe Kido, the doctor, not the Digi-Destined.

"He has finally awakened." He announced. "He wants to talk to you, Takeru."

Takeru nodded. He didn't expect any less from Koushiro. The mission above everything else. Not bothering to look around, he quickly made his way inside the bedroom and locked himself inside. In the middle of the bedroom, Koushiro rested on a large bed, his body hidden under white sheets, only showing his head, which revealed a pale face and a pair of eyes which glowed with a fiery intensity as he looked at Takeru, yet seemed to be filled with great sorrow. Takeru couldn't help but feel sorry, and he also remembered when he had seen similar expressions.

Once again, silent sorrow.

Takato, who will never live to love,

Rika, who continuously fights against her own self,

Ryo, who struggles to understand the mystery of his own existence,

Mimi, who is now forced to go through the maturity she has refused to accept,

My own brother, who can't understand that he can't go against his own impulses and desires,

My sister-in-law, Sora, who even after realizing she is living a lie, prefers to continue her existence with contempt…...

Davis, who no matter what he does, doesn't know there is no easy way to happiness,

Kari, who struggles to survive in the cruel world of adulthood, which swallowed her too early, too innocent………

And now Koushiro, who lives with a stigma of failure and repentance beyond his own comprehension.

In the end, everyone has their own silent sorrow.

"Good to see you again, Koushiro."

"Believe me when I say I share your feelings." The redhead replied as he struggled to change to a sitting position. Takeru waited patiently, even if he was very eager to find out what had happened, especially considering Koushiro's last words before falling unconscious. Once again, Takeru was really touched by the sadness in his friend's expression.

"I couldn't do anything."

"I take it Mimi isn't at her house right now."

Koushiro shook her head. "I don't think so."

With that, Izzy proceeded to explain what happened and what little he saw, because it really hadn't been much. He hadn't even caught a glimpse of the attacker/kidnapper, as the hit he had received on the head had knocked him out cold for many hours. After waking up, he made his way back to Gennai's place, ignoring the fact that he was losing blood with every step, his only hint being the sharp pain on his skull and the blurry sight that seemed to worsen every minute. Finally, he had arrived, only to fall unconscious again.

When he was done, there were only two plausible conclusions in Koushiro's mind: Mimi had been kidnapped by an unknown enemy for purposes unknown, and he was an idiot.

"What kind of friend am I? What kind of man am I!? I couldn't even protect her………she might as well just return to Odaiba by herself, I didn't make a difference!"

"Oh, knock it off, you. You had nothing to do with it! Stop blaming yourself! Do you think I could have done anything against an ambush!? Do you think any of the other guys could have done anything!?"

"…………"

"Koushiro, what happened to Mimi was not your fault. You couldn't have stopped it, not without your Digimon."

Once again, Koushiro remained silent. Takeru kept his usual cool, even if his mind worked at full speed at the moment.

"Can you get up?" Takeru asked.

"Maybe, but I'm not in the mood for trying."

"I guess I'll you alone for a while, then." Takeru concluded before leaving the room quietly. It was obvious that Koushiro needed to rest, as he needed to deal with the psychological damage. The pillow would do the job.

However, the look on Gennai's eyes as he exited the room couldn't mean anything good. Looking at the mixture of fear and thrill on the Chosen's eyes helped Takeru put two and two together.

"I received a report from the southwestern edge of Server. It seems an exploration team is already here."

Takeru sighed. At last, it had happened.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've got work to do."

*********************************************************************

She had given up on struggling a long time ago. Tied to the bed as she was, there was nothing much she could do or see, except the clear white ceiling with the powerful and blinding neon light. The air conditioner seemed to be at its max, because she was freezing.

She had also given up on yelling. She was certain there was nobody else in the entire place but her captor. Of course, there was no way she could know of young Gabrielle in her giant glass tube a few doors away.

And so, Mimi waited. There was nothing else she could do. At that thought terrified her.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of an automatic door sliding open and footsteps on the most-likely-to-be-impeccable white floor. Finally, she saw the face of her captor, or at least what wasn't under the black robe and the surgeon mask.

The man's appearance definitely didn't help reassuring her, but in the state she currently was, with tense leather bands immobilizing even her head, she couldn't do anything but let go a barrage of insults.

"What do you want, you bastard!?"

The man ignored her. He was in absolute control, why bothering to listen to a scared woman's ramblings? Instead, he searched in his robe and took out two syringes containing two different liquids. She couldn't identify either one of them. When the first one slowly approached her left arm, she struggled to get free, even if every cell of her brain told her it would be impossible.

"What are you gonna do to me, motherfucker!? LET ME GO!!!"

Then, it came. The usual pain caused by the needle piercing through her skin, and the liquid which quickly entered her bloodstream. Painfully to Mimi, her initial surge of anger was quickly transforming into sheer terror.

"What……what did you do?" She quietly asked, as the first tears escaped her eyes and the powerful sedative started working.

From that moment onwards, she wouldn't remember anything else. She would forget the moment she was injected the second drug in her system, the one which would force the fetus growing in her womb to come out of her. However, she would always remember the cold eyes which stared at her as his lips mouthed a meaningless "sorry" under the mask.

Fuck you. She thought.

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Rika was wondering how many pounds she had sweated off her body by the fourth hour of continuous walking. Of course, she understood that Renamon had wasted much less time because she had been alone and running at full speed, driven by urgency. They were still driven by urgency, but now they were with a large group, with several wounded members.

They had spent the last two hours making their way to the deepest parts of a thick forest which had been evolving to the category of jungle during the last forty-five minutes. Renamon quietly walked next to her, and Rika had noticed that her partner was getting tired, too. Since the beginning of the battle against Daemon in the early morning, she had been working nonstop, and by Rika's calculations, midnight was getting close.

Takato snored peacefully on Rika's back, and that was a relief. Of course, Rika and Renamon had been taking turns carrying the boy, which was pretty much a bother to Rosemon, who always insisted on allowing the others to share the job. Rika growled and ignored the fairy Digimon's suggestion.

She had also noticed that Renamon had been shooting random glances at her for the last fifteen minutes. Rika obviously knew what those meant. Her turn had been over a while ago, and she knew that. However, she found that carrying Takato, as difficult as it could be, proved to be quite efficient in calming her nerves.

"Here."

It took Rika a few seconds to recognize the voice as Renamon's. "Huh?"

"I was spotted by them here." Renamon muttered quietly, as if she were ashamed of her words.

"Oh." That was all Rika could say, but she did understand what her Digimon truly wanted to say. No one knew as much about a fighter's honor as Rika Nonaka.

Asides from that simple exchange, there was no other interruption in the absolute silence that surrounded the group in the next minutes. And that was a good thing, as it helped Rika notice something very notorious.

Since the moment they entered the "forest", she had noticed there was a very important difference to the Human World's forests. There was an absolute lack of "natural" sounds. There were no insects making their strange noises, or rustling in the bushes, or birds chirping, or anything remotely similar. Asides from the wind blowing on the leaves, the place could have been even quieter than a tomb.

However, since the moment Renamon made her particular comment, Rika could notice an increasing yet unrecognizable sound in the direction they were walking to. It was something like the sound of many people speaking at an excessively low volume at the same time. There was water, or something similar to the flow of a river, yet much louder than the usual.

And suddenly, the entire group stopped, startling Rika and Renamon, who stopped a second later. Rika looked around, trying to find anything odd of remotely different from what she had seen for the last two hours. However, the vegetation was exactly the same. Even worse, the path they had been following now seemed to be completely blocked by bushes and tall trees.

"We have arrived." Rosemon announced to them, since obviously the other plant Digimon had to know that. Opening a narrow passage in the seemingly impossible-to-get-through wall of green, Renamon and Rika were witnesses to one of the most amazing sights ever.

Definitely a lost clearing in the middle of the Digital World's thickest jungle, a land of evergreen. The river Rika had heard flowed freely from side to side of the place, and the reason for its intensity came from a waterfall at the far eastern side of the small "oasis", with a petite rainbow coming out of it for added effect. The biggest trees of the entire forest seemed to be gathered in that exact place, as Rika saw how their giant roots extended through the whole place, competing with some rocky formations for the title of the biggest of God's creations in that place. In the rocks, Rika and Renamon saw several openings, and immediately suspected them to lead to whichever residences the inhabitants of that little paradise used.

Oh, and there were Digimon. Hundreds of them. Mostly plants like the ones she had just met, as well as fairy types like Piximon and weak insect types like Honeybeemon and Butterflymon. And they all seemed to be at peace, whether they were loafing around, pollinating the flora or playing the river and the waterfall, sprinkling water anywhere as well as joyful laughter. Rika couldn't stop herself from smiling a little bit, imagining Takato's face when he woke up and saw this wonderful place with his own eyes.

If he wakes up, that is.

Shaking away the horrible thoughts, Rika looked at her partner, who nodded in silent agreement. They had found the place. Then, they both looked Rosemon, who had the face of someone who had actually waited for their guests to marvel in the sight of her home. After the showing off was over, Rosemon smiled for the first time and looked at the place she had fought to protect.

"You are welcome to our secret garden."

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End of chapter 13………

Author's Notes: At last, the short chapter I needed to set everything for the awesome series finale. From this moment, it's a twisting spiral to the end of it all……well, not maybe. I am proud to announce that Gospel, the sequel to Tamers Forever, is a reality. After wondering if I actually had the time and the will to go on with such a project, I've found a reason to go on, even if, even if we don't like to admit it, Digimon fanfiction is slowly withering and dying. Anyway, back to Silent Sorrow. As I just mentioned, the final moments of Tamers Forever are around the corner, where I pretty much pack everything in a tiny little package of more questions than answers, without forgetting lots of psychological fuck-ups and insane battle sequences with buildings blowing up and entire pieces of land burned to ashes. Cool, huh? Oh, of course, don't forget the Rukato and Jeri/Henry scenes. And more, much more of Alice McCoy, as she is a VERY important character in Gospel. And Gabrielle, DC, and the rest of the Archangels, and the Digi-Destined, of course. They're in one hell of a problem right now. Which of them will be able to make their partners evolve? Which of them will be reduced to mere sitting ducks? What is Gabrielle up to now, and how many troubles will DC get into because of her? And what about Mimi? And Tai? Just be patient, because the last chapters are getting closer and closer!!!!

(The Biggest Dreamer starts playing)

Rika's Voice: Heaven. A place of joy and peace. Eternal rest to the souls of those not forgotten by God. And in the world, chaos and despair descend upon both humans and Digimon. War tears apart lives and souls, and the ground is stained with blood and tears. Yet in the darkness, there is light. In the darkness, there is love. Soon, on fanfiction.net, the next chapter of "Silent Sorrow": Concerto of Despair, Part I.

Daneel Rush (daneel_ff@hotmail.com)